Printing press ink fountain



Au@ 145, 1950 c. s. CAFIS 2,519,229

" PRINTING `PRESS INK FOUNTAIN Filed Nov. 27, 1944 y 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Aug. 15, 1950 c. s. CRAFTS 2,519,229

` PRINTING PRESS INK FOUNTAIN v l Filed Nov. 27, 1944 s sheets-sheet 26&6 53 l. /9

TTO NEYJ Aug. 15, 1950 c. s. GRAF-rs PRINTING PRESS INK FOUNTAIN 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 2'7, 1944 NYENTOQ-w 5. Cra IMJ( .s mf al C@ 37m@ m n@ Y Patented Aug. 15,1950

" UNlTEu STAT kration of Illinois es PATENT: oF

PRESS INK FOUNTAIN Curtis S. Crafts, Oak Park, Ill., Aassignor to Goss Y4 of "5 Printing Press Company, Chicago, Ill.', a corpo- FICE 'Application November 27, 1944, serial No. 565,242f

' 11 Claims. (Cl. lOl- 350) 1 'pIlhe present invention pertains to inkfountains forfprinting presses, the general aim being to facilitate theremoval ofrink from such devices without either wastage of ink or lossof time.

Occasion frequently arises for removal of ink from printing pressfountains either in cleaning the same, `or more often, in changing fromone color 'towanotheiz In xed'fountain's such removal has heretoforebeen effected byscooping the' ink out of a fountainjwithY a spatula orthe likel and fsopping up the `remainder with rags.

Such a procedure is not only tedious and timeconsuming, but'yerywasteful of the ink since a large portion of it cannotbe reclaimed. Thelatteris'a particularly important'factor in the event that expensiveheat setting inks or the like areemployed, asis done for example inmagazine presses g To obviate the shortcomings of the prior practiceYoutlined above, it is an ,objectofjthe present inventionv to provide afountainwhich is movably mounted inV such manner that `it Vmay bereadily swung' from'working position, in which it supplies ink toacoacting fountain roller, into a tiltedldrainage position Yin whichAthe ink spills out by free gravity flow over the lip or edge Vofthe'fountairciV for collection in a bucket or other suitablereceptacle.

AAnother object is to providea fountain-equipped with anovershot'fountainroller and embodying an arrangement -for rocking thefountain betweenga working positionV in which the fountain is Afirmlylocked (in a precisely fixed upright porsition, and an alternativelyavailable drainage position in which the fountainvis'tipped so that itscontents ru'nq'out in a free flowing'stream.

rIn-^`aisomewhat morefspecific aspect, 'it is an object-of theinventionto provide aj fountain having an overshot fountain rollerand coactingl yl4J) regulating blade, together with means for rocking the fountain andblade bodily as a unit about the 1 axis of the fountain roller fordischarging thecontents-of the fountain and without disturbing theadjusted setti'ngcfv the blade with reference to the peripheryV oftheroller. 1

'Still another object is to provide a fountain of the character setforth above and in which aV the accom-.'

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a printing press ink` fountainembodying the present invenv tion.

taken substantially along the line 3-3 in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional viewY Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. l but showing the fountain tilted for discharge of the inkfrom'.

taken substantially along the line 4 4 in Fig. 3.;

FigfV but showing the `fountain inV its tilted or Vmodifications andalternative constructionsfI'` have shown inthe drawings and will hereindef" scribe in detail the preferred embodiment, but

it is to be understood that I do not therebyinff tend to limit theinvention to the specific'fo'rrn disclosed, but intend to cover allmodificationsv and alternative constructions fallingwithin the spiritandscope of the invention asv expressedin the appended claims.

Referring more particularly to the exemplary embodimentY of theinvention illustrated in the* accompanying drawings, an ink fountainAorpan l0 has been shown and in which a conventional overshot fountain'roller I IY is arranged to revolve. During use the fountain roller I'Iruns partially submerged in a bath of'ink whose level is indicated at l2Vin Fig. 3. 0n the side of the roller l I l emerging from'the ink bath aregulating blade'N4 I3 is provided and which presents an edge extendinglongitudinally of the roller;` The dispress in which the fountainisemployed.l

As so far described; the arrangement is more or less conventional andremovalA vof inkl from? 1 Vthe fountain would entail the tedious andwaste-'f ful process of scooping it out with a spatulaandV To overcomethat dif-4 f culty, the-fountain Il) herein has been pivoted.; to tiltllaterallyy about the axis of the 'fountain-f roller Il so that whentilted itscontents Lwillrn.

soaking it up with rags.

pour out in afreeflowing streameven though a suitable printing cylinderor plate, theespeciic1` "mechanisms used depending upon the typeffiit behighly viscous. For that purpose the fountain II is journaled to swingon a pair of bushings I5, one of which appears in Figs. 4 and 6, andthrough which passes the shaft Iii of the fountain roller I I. Suchbushings I5 are clamped by split blocks Il on supporting brackets I8carried by the press frame fragmentarily indicated at I9. Sleevebearings telescoped within interior bores 2I in the bushings I5 journalthe fountain roller shaft II, while reduced end portions 22 on thebushings I5 pass through apertures 23 in the end plates or members 24 ofthe fountain II to journal the latter coaxially with the fountainroller. j.

Swinging of the fountain .ID isaccomplished by means of a manualactuating mechanism (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) including a worm 25 journaled inprojections 26 on the bracket 27 and having a squared end 28 to which asuitable wrench or operating crank (not shown) may be applied. The worm25 meshes with a worm wheel 29 fixed to a transverse shaft 39 journaledin the brackets 2'I at opposite ends of the fountain, such shaft havingrigid therewith crank arms 3l. Pivoted to the outer end of such crank isa link 32 which is in turn pivoted to a lug 33 on the lower front sideof the fountain. As the worm 25 is revolved to swing the crank arm 3|counterclockwise (as viewed in Fig. 3)., the fountain Ii) is tilteddownward to the discharge position of Figs 2 and 5. Similarly, turningof the worm in the vopposite direction restores the fountain to itsupright or working position of Figs. l and 3. Precision location of thefountain I9 in its Working position is important for a number ofreasonsincluding the fact that the pickup roller 34 is arranged to swingwith it and must therefore be restored to exactly the proper positionfor contact with the next roller in the series (indicated at 35 in Fig.3) to which the ink is transferred. To effect such precision location ofthe fountain when in working position a positive stop arrangement isprovided including a lug 36 rigid with the bracket I8 (Fig. 4) andpresenting an accurately machined top surface 31 against which a`Compler'nental machined surface 38 on the lower side of the fountainabuts when the fountain is in Working position. Once the stop surfaces3l, 38 have been abutted, the fountain is securely locked in suchposition by the action of the worm 29 which is preferably of the lowefficiency or socalled non-reversible type, meaning that it cannot .berevolved byrturning of the worm wheel.

The fountain l0 is preferably of the special shape shown, both in orderto facilitate drainage 0f ink from it and to aid in efficientlysupplying ink to the fountain roller II when in use.

so rthat ink will be crowded by it toward the roller and thus carriedunder the latter. The opposite or front side wall 42 is,gon the otherhand, less steeply inclined, therein7 minimizing the angle through whichtheyfountain must be tilted in order to effect complete gravitydrainageof its contents.

A, heat exchange jacket is provided on the exterior of the fountain I toaccommodate either the heating or cooling, as the case may be, ofcertain types of inks that should be kept at particular temperatureswhile in use in the fountain. Such jacket in the present instancecomprises a chamber 43 bordered by a rectangular wall member 44 integralwith the fountain body 39 and closed by a bottom plate 45. Water orother suitable heating or cooling medium enters at the inlet 46 andleaves the chamber 43 at the outlet 47. To accommodate the use of such afluidsuppliedjacket even with a tiltable fountain such as that shown,flexible conduits or hoses 48 leading to the inlet and outlet 4S, 41 areprovided (Figs. 3 and 5). Maintenance of the uid connections duringemptying of the fountain is desirable in that lowering of the inkviscosity A fountain, -blade and pickup roller are, in a general sense,located at circumferentially spaced pointsabout the periphery of thefountain roller. In the particular construction illustrated,v theregulating blade I3 is fixed to the underside of an elongated housing orsupport 49 eXtr-:ndingv lengthwise of the-fountain and secured at itsopposite ends to the end members 24 of the fountain. A retaining strip50 clamps the portion of the blade IS remote from the fountain roller IIto the housing 49, leaving the opposite edge portion of the blade freefor iiexuretoward and away from the fountain roller. The usualregulating screws 5I, threaded in the housing 49, project into contactwith the upper face of the blade and serve to vary its flexure. Suchscrews are located at suitable intervals along the length ofthe bladeas, for example, one for each columy nar width on the press. The opentop portion of the fountain` I9 between its front edge or lip and theblade supporting housing 49 is closed by a removable sheet metal cover52.- The picky up roller, on the other hand,` is journaled iny brackets53 bolted to the end portions of the housing 49.

The operation of the disclosed apparatus will, in general, be clear fromthe foregoing. By way of brief -recaptulation, it may be observed thatduring press operation the fountain II) is in the generally upright orworking position shown in` Figs. 1 and 3. In such case the stop faces37, 3B are abutted in firm engagement with each other so that thefountain I9 is located with precision in its working position asheretofore described. They fountain roller revolves counterclockwise (asViewed in Fig. 3) picking up a perpiheral film of ink from the bath inthe fountain, and the thickness of such nlm is regulated by the settingof the blade I3. The regulated nlm of ink passing under thel blade `I 3progresses to the pickup roller 34 to which it is transferred and fromwhich it passes on to the point of use in the press as heretoforedescribed.

To empty the fountain i0 and clean it during idle periods for the press,the operator removes the cover 52, applies a drainageguard 54 (Fig. 2) i'adequate for free flowing spillage of the ink.

Whenthe fountain is in suchtilted position the operator hasfree access(through the-space previouslyoccupiedby the cover `52) tothe interior,

of the fountainfor wiping` cut any sludge or; remnants'- Of inkthatimayvremain. Since the pickup roller 34 is tilted forward heyalsocan reach- .the-rearnside ofthe fountain roller to wipe `it clean. Itwill thus be seen that the ink can be readily and quickly drained fromthe fountain, making possible maximum reclamation .of the inkandthorougli cleaning of the fountain structure.

In restoring the fountain to operating position the operator simplyrevolves the Worm to swing y the fountain, pickup'roller `and blade back`to working position. ,During all such rocking -or tilting motion thedisplacementof the bladewith reference tothe f ountainvroller remainsundisturbedsothat no readjustment of the blade by the regulating screws5I is lrequired following drainage of the fountain.

`I claim as inyinvention: ,y n

1. The combination of a printing press ink fountain, an overshotfountain roller, means journalingsaid roller for rotation within saidfountain, a regulating blade, means supportingsaid regulating blade witha lfree edge of the saine adjacent the periphery of the roller andextending longitudinally of the latter, and means supporting saidfountain and blade for coincident rocking motion about the axis of saidroller between an upright operating position for said fountain and atilted drainage position therefor.

2. The combination of a printing press ink fountain, an overshotfountain roller, means journaling said roller for rotation within saidfountain, a regulating blade rigidly mounted on said fountain andadapted to coact with said fountain roller, and means supporting saidfountain for rocking motion about the axis of said roller between aWorking position and an alternatively available drainage position.

3. The combinationV of a printing press ink fountain of generally troughshape, means for journaling an overshot fountain roller to rotate insaid fountain, a pickup roller adjacent the upper side of said fountainroller, and means supporting said fountain as well as said pickupAroller for rocking as a unit about the longitudinal axis of saidfountain roller between an upright operating position for saidfountain-and a tilted drainage position therefor.

4. The combination of a revoluble overshot fountain roller fixed on ashaft projecting axially from opposite ends thereof; a pan-shaped inkfountain, a regulating blade and a pickup roller al1 located atcircumferentially' spaced points about the periphery of said fountainroller for coaction therewith; means journaled on said shaft supportingsaid fountain, blade and pickup roller for oscillatory motion in unisonwith each other about `the axis of said fountain roller `between an,yoperating position in which said fountain generally upright forpresentation of a contained body offink to said fountain yroller. and adrainage position in which said fountain is canted for free spillageofits contents.

, 5. The combination with an ink fountain having a `fountain, rollerrevoluble-therein and a l regulating bladerigidly mounted onsaidfountain for` coaction with said roller, of means supporting saidlfountain for tilting movement ibe-v tween two alternativelyavailablepositionsone,

of whichis an operating position in which said fountain is located'topresent abody of ink to said roller and the.' other of which is adrainage position in which said fountain is eantedfor free spillage ofits contents. i

6. The combination of` an ink fountain having a fountain rollerrevoluble therein, means supporting said fountain for movement betweenalternatively available `positions one of Awhich is an operatingposition in whichsaid fountain is.

surface, and a coactingstationary stop located to vabut against saidvstop surface' when said fountain is `in said operating positiontothereby lef-v fect precision location of said fountain in the latterposition.

. 7. The combination of an inkifountain,having-y a fountain roller4revoluble therein, `means supporting said fountain for movement betweenalternatively` available positions one of whichris an operating positioninv which said fountain is 1o-r cated to present abody of ink to saidroller and the other of which is a drainage position in which saidfountain is canted for free spillage of its contents, ink transfer meansentirelysupported by said fountain for picking up ink from said roller,said fountain presenting an accurately located stop surface, a coactingstationary stop located to abut against said stop surface when saidfountain is in said operating position to thereby effect precisionlocation of said fountain in the latter position, and means for lockingsaid fountain in operating position with said stationary stop inengagement with said stop surface.

8. The combination of an ink fountain having a fountain roller revolubletherein, means supporting said fountain for movement betweenalternatively available positions one of which is an operating positionin which said fountain is located to present a body of ink to saidroller and the other of which is a drainage position in which saidfountain is canted for free spillage of its contents, a pickup rolleradapted to coact with said fountain roller and mounted on said fountainfor bodily movement therewith, said fountain presenting an accuratelylocated stop surface, a coacting stationary stop located to abut againstsaid stop surface when said fountain is in said operating position tothereby effect precision location of said fountain in the latterposition, and an operating mechanism for tilting said fountain includinga manually rotatable worm meshing with a worm wheel, said Worm being ofthe low efficiency type wherefore said fountain is held againstinadvertent displacement whenever said fountain is at rest.

9. The combination of an ink fountain having a fountain roller revolubletherein, means sup-

